Qibla direction in Malakal

How to face the Qibla in Malakal

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 32.5° towards east: the result is the bearing of 32.5°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “north” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Malakal.

Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Malakal, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Malakal to Mecca points to 33.4°, only 1.0° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 32.5° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 32.5° obtained? From the coordinates of Malakal (9.5334° N, 31.6605° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.

Distance from Malakal to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,584 km from Malakal as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,862 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 22 min, although most pilgrims from Malakal connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Malakal run 1 hour behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Malakal rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Malakal

On 136 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Malakal while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 11:53 local time.

On 229 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 13:22.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Malakal: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Malakal compared with other cities

Compared with Juba, 521 km away, the Qibla in Malakal is turned 7.5° further clockwise (32.5° against 25.0°), and Mecca is 462 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Wau (452 km), prays towards 38.5°, a difference of 6.0°.

Across the 5 cities in South Sudan on this site, the Qibla ranges from 25.0° in Juba to 42.2° in Winejok, a spread of 17.1°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for South Sudan.

Qibla in cities near Malakal

• Wau38.5° · 452 km
• Winejok42.2° · 453 km
• Juba25.0° · 521 km
• Yei26.4° · 614 km